Hundreds of protesters from Ogoniland shut
business activities and vehicular traffic along
the Port Harcourt–Aba Road in Port Harcourt
on Monday to protest against their perceived
political and environmental marginalisation
by political parties in Rivers State.
The protesters, under the aegis of the
Movement for the Survive of Ogoni People
(MOSOP), converged at Rumuola junction
and marched to Isaac Boro Park, singing
solidarity songs, decrying the marginalisation
of the area in the political arrangement of
the parties in the state.
In his remarks on the protest, President of
MOSOP, Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, said the
essence of the peaceful demonstration by
Ogoni people was to register their
disapproval of the plan against “Ogoni 2015
project.”
He said if the political parties in Rivers State
have decided not to field an Ogoni candidate
for the governorship of the state they should
also explain to Ogoni people where the
decision was taken and what would be the
position of Ogoni in the political ladder of
the state.
Pyagbara said: “The protest is our
disapproval of the political campaign in
Rivers State; we are not interested in the
campaign in our communities. We are also
using the protest to call on those who are
concerned that Ogoni cannot wait for another
four to eight years before we could be allow
to rule.
“We have been in the wilderness. And we are
tired, that is why we decided to tell the world
that we disapprove the political decision
against the Ogoni people. We demand an
explanation because we have made a lot of
sacrifices and we cannot continue to be taken
for granted.”
Going down memory lane, Pyagbara said,
“Twenty four years ago, we launched a
struggle for the political emancipation,
economic redemption and environmental
restoration of Ogoniland after over 30 years
of independence; today, Ogoni is still burning
in the flames of withering injustice.
“It was this realisation that propelled us in
line with the provisions of the Ogoni Bill of
Rights (OBR) to launch the Ogoni Project
2015 which amongst others, sought Ogoni’s
political representation in the position of
governor of Rivers State come 2015. We
provided all the analysis needed to convince
whoever that cared about Ogoni that in the
spirit of the principle of rotation, affirmative
action and the federal character principle,
this opportunity should be given to Ogoni
come 2015. The parties had jettisoned this
request of ours and had ignored Ogoni in the
process, thereby humiliating all of us and
making a mockery of the democracy which
we all suffered for and nourished with our
sweat and with the Ogoni blood. This is
injustice.
“My dear brothers and sisters, wounded
justice lying prostrate on the blood-flowing
streets of our motherland must be lifted from
this dust of shame to reign supreme amongst
the children of men.
“So we have come here today to dramatise
the shameful condition in which the
Ogoniman had been put politically in Rivers
State. We have come all the way from Ogoni,
men and women to the capital of injustice in
Nigeria, Rivers State where fairness and
justice had been undermined.
“We are here to demand a just and fair
democratic system which treats every ethnic
group equally and with fairness. We are here
to declare that Ogoni has come to the point
where we would not allow political traitors to
continue to deceive us. As the late British
Prime Minister, William Gladstone, stated,
‘Politics without morality is like a bicycle
without break’. Those who cannot keep their
words cannot be trusted.”
He called on the federal government to come
to the rescue of the people of Ogoniland and
take a decisive action in favour of the
people.
“We are appreciative of what is happening on
the environmental front by the federal
government but we believe more still needs to
be done particularly in terms of taking the
process forward and also defining a clear
political future for the Ogoni people. Until
this is done, we do not think what is going
on will be acceptable.
It is also on this note that we are inviting the
Rivers State Government to undo the toga of
betrayal of the Ogoni people by telling us the
place of the Ogoni people in their planned
political process. We will continue to make a
strong demand upon Rivers State because
this is where we stay, this is where we work
and this is where we pay our taxes,” he said.
Former Ogoni student leader, Mr. Simeon
Waayii, who led the protest, also stated that
if political parties in the state did not
substitute their candidates for an Ogoni
candidate before the general election, Ogoni
people would boycott the 2015 election.
He said the Ogoni people were protesting
against political marginalisation and betrayal
of “Ogoni 2015 project,” adding that since the
creation of Rivers State no Ogoni man has
been governor, deputy, speaker and chief
judge.
He said: “We will boycott the next year’s
election if the political parties in the state
did not act fast to substitute their candidates
to an Ogoni candidate. We cannot be
betrayed when we are the sole contributor of
socio-economic development of Rivers State
and Nigeria.
“We are protesting injustice and
marginalisation against Ogoni 2015 project
by successive administrations in Nigeria and
stakeholders in Rivers State. We want to
govern Rivers State in 2015 and since 1967
when Rivers State was created we have not
produce governor, deputy and chief judge,” he
said.
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